Patriots rout Buccaneers 35-7 at Wembley

Oct 25, 2009 - 10:26 PM
By STEPHEN WILSON
AP Sports Writer

WEMBLEY, England(AP) -- It took a trip across the Atlantic for Tom
Brady and the New England Patriots to get their first road
victory of the season. For the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the
change of scenery produced yet another loss.

Brady threw three touchdown passes and had more than 300 yards
as the Patriots (5-2) beat the Buccaneers 35-7 at Wembley
Stadium on Sunday in the NFL's third regular-season game at the
iconic London venue.

The Bucs, who gave up a home game to play in London, fell to 0-7
and saw their losing streak extended to 11 games overall.

The Patriots were coming off a 59-0 win over the Tennessee
Titans in which Brady tossed six TD passes. New England wasn't
as overpowering this time, and Brady even threw two
interceptions in an uneven first-half performance.

But, with a 39-yard score on an interception return by safety
Brandon Meriweather on the fifth play of the game, New England
was always in control against the league's 27th-ranked defense.

Brady had TD passes to Wes Welker, Sam Aiken and Benjamin
Watson. He finished 23 of 32 for 308 yards and was replaced late
in the game by Brian Hoyer. Laurence Maroney went over from 1
yard out with 9:25 left to complete the scoring.

"I'm feeling great," Brady said. "I keep rolling. That's two
wins in a row. We went out there and put two touchdowns on the
board there in the second half. We had plenty of distractions
coming over here, but everybody was really energized. To get the
win and fly home and have a (bye) week off is just great."

Tampa Bay and quarterback Josh Johnson mustered little offense.
The Bucs' only score came on a 33-yard pass from Johnson to
Antonio Bryant near the end of the first half. Johnson finished
9 of 26 for 156 yards and three interceptions. He was taken out
midway through the fourth quarter and replaced by rookie Josh
Freeman.

The game was played before a sellout crowd of 84,254 at Wembley,
England's national stadium.

It's the third straight year the NFL has come to London for a
regular-season game. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last
week he envisions playing multiple regular-season games in
Britain in coming years with the possibility of London having
its own franchise.

Sunday's atmosphere was noisy and festive, and the dry weather
left the Wembley field in good playing condition.

Brady said it even had the feel of a Super Bowl.

"All the flashbulbs were going off there before the kickoff,"
the two-time Super Bowl MVP said. "They went on for about 10
minutes, which you don't see in the States too often. I think
it's a privilege to come over here and get to enjoy this type of
experience. It will probably never happen again for us, so we'll
retire 1-0 internationally."

Even understated Patriots coach Bill Belichick was happy with
the international experience.

"It's a great way to end this week," he said. "It's been an
enjoyable couple days here and glad we could end it on a
positive note."

For the Patriots, it was their first victory on the road this
season after losses at the New York Jets and Denver Broncos.

The loss capped a bad day for the Glazer family, which owns the
Buccaneers. The Glazers' also control English soccer powerhouse
Manchester United, which lost to Liverpool 2-0 earlier in the
day and missed a chance to regain first place in the Premier
League from Chelsea. Brothers Bryan and Joel Glazer were at
Wembley for the Bucs game.

The Bucs' 11-game losing streak is their longest since 1976-77
when they endured an NFL-record 0-26 skid.

Rookie coach Raheem Morris said his team just couldn't stop
Brady.

"Tom, he's the guy that changed the game. He's the guy you worry
about constantly," he said. "When you have a great quarterback
like that, that's what he does and that's what he will do for
you."

The tone of the game was set on the first series when
Meriweather stepped in front of Sammie Stroughter on a short
slant, picked off Johnson's throw and ran untouched into the end
zone.

"I just happened to have a good break on the ball," Meriweather
said. "I think the quarterback and receiver were on two
different pages, and he just happened to throw it to me. Any big
play sets the mood."

Brady hit Welker with a 14-yard TD pass after a 37-yard
completion to Randy Moss. Welker took the quick throw behind the
line of scrimmage, then weaved his way through the defenders
into the end zone with 2:16 left in the first quarter.

The Patriots were driving for a third score early in the second
quarter when Brady, who had completed his first seven passes,
scrambled out of the pocket and lofted a pass into the end zone
for Moss that was picked off by Tanard Jackson.

But Brady came back on his next series, ducked away from the
rush and dumped the ball over the middle to Aiken, who slipped a
tackle by Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud and went down the
sideline for a 54-yard score to make it 21-0 with 11:18 left in
the half.

Brady was picked off for the second time in four passes when he
made a deep throw over the middle to Brandon Tate that was
intercepted by a leaping Aqib Talib.

After an anemic Tampa Bay passing performance for the most of
the first half, Bryant beat cornerback Darius Butler down the
right sideline and hauled in Johnson's scoring pass.

Brady led the Patriots on a 73-yard, 10-play drive to open the
second half, hitting tight end Watson with a 35-yard pass over
linebacker Geno Hayes to make it 28-7.

Notes: The pregame festivities had a local flavor, with a
performance by Scottish rock singer Calvin Harris. Welsh opera
star Katherine Jenkins sang "God Save the Queen" and Grammy
winner Toni Braxton performed "The Star-Spangled Banner." ...
Former middleweight boxing champion Joe Calzaghe served as
honorary captain of the Bucs..... The Pats had only three active
running backs Sunday, with Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor both
ruled out with injuries.